Preparation and properties of intercalated rectorite/polypropylene nanocomposites

Organic rectorite clay (OREC)/polypropylene(PP) nanocomposites were prepared by melt processing. OREC was obtained from natural rectorite through ion exchange with a quaternary ammonium salt. The morphological features of the composites were investigated by using the X-ray diffraction and TEM techniques. It was found that the spacing of 001 crystalline planes for OREC slightly increased, when it was blended with PP. The introduction of OREC showed evident positive effect on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. The tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength for composites of 2% OREC are 62.3%, 285.9% and 14.0% higher than those of pure PP, respectively. The thermogravimetric temperature of 10% weight lose of the composite sample is 50 K higher than that of pure PP.